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Giant Bomb Thread #5 - We love you, Ryan Davis

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This Rorie picture he retweeted from Tested is perfect. May we remember the best of times.

SmUSeRR.jpg
 
Mister Negative said:
Am I the only person feeling guilty for how sad I feel? Like I'm almost on the verge of tears reading Dave's site and all that. I didn't even know the guy, I feel like only people who knew him should be able to feel like this. I don't know.
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Guilt isn't the appropriate word for me, but there was some confusion this morning initially. Confusion as to why it hit me so hard in the gut. As I thought about it more, and am still thinking about it for the rest of the day/week I am sure, I came to my own conclusion. The way that Ryan allowed a lot of us to see and hear the very real him, his true persona, well... we got to know him far more than most personalities. We laughed with his jokes, and lost it when he did. There was a sincerity in what Ryan did and what he put out there for us for so so long, it is hard not to be drawn to that. Drawn close.

I think the grief that I am feeling is a direct result of who Ryan was, and the big big piece of himself that Ryan sincerely and joyfully shared with all of us. It was just him.

I don't feel guilty. I truly truly miss this man I have never met.
 
Greg Miller just tweeted that he's acquired a CHINA DON'T CARE shirt for the big live Podcast Beyond 300. He did a really good write up on IGN.

The video game industry has lost one of its most infectious smiles and beloved personalities. Co-founder of Giant Bomb, Ryan Davis passed away on July 3rd. He was 34 and had been married less than a week. A cause of death has not been released.

“Obviously we’re all stunned over here,” wrote Matthew Rorie in Giant Bomb’s story about Ryan’s passing. “In the face of this awfulness, many of us will at least always remember him as we last saw him: outrageously, uproariously happy, looking forward to his next adventure with the biggest grin his face could hold.”

It’s a sentiment shared by everyone who ever met the man -- myself included. I only appeared on the Bombcast with Ryan once, and from that point on, he made me feel like we were old high school buddies every time we saw each other at an event. He’s a man whose celebration of gaming struck a chord with everyone he ever spoke to.
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Even if you only pop into IGN once a month, you’re part of the video gaming community. It exists in hundreds of places like NeoGAF, GameSpot, and your local GameStop -- and today, it lost someone very important to all of us.
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Max from CAH wrote my favorite blog post about this and touched on the real reason why GB has been so successful:

Max said:
I’ll particularly miss the dynamic that Ryan had with Jeff Gerstmann. I’ll never forget when I introduced Jeff and Ryan to our producer over drinks. She’s a pretty seasoned pro and works with celebrities and comedians all the time; after they left, she turned to me and said, “They’re good."
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http://maxistentialist.tumblr.com/post/54928987924/last-night-i-got-a-terrible-call-from-patrick-that

They had special chemistry. It's going to suck listening/watching these guys without Ryan being there no matter how you slice it.
 
Doombear said:
Guilt isn't the appropriate word for me, but there was some confusion this morning initially. Confusion as to why it hit me so hard in the gut. As I thought about it more, and am still thinking about it for the rest of the day/week I am sure, I came to my own conclusion. The way that Ryan allowed a lot of us to see and hear the very real him, his true persona, well... we got to know him far more than most personalities. We laughed with his jokes, and lost it when he did. There was a sincerity in what Ryan did and what he put out there for us for so so long, it is hard not to be drawn to that. Drawn close.

I think the grief that I am feeling is a direct result of who Ryan was, and the big big piece of himself that Ryan sincerely and joyfully shared with all of us. It was just him.

I don't feel guilty. I truly truly miss this man I have never met.
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Yes. All those podcasts and videos are just like listening in on a phone call between friends. They pull you right into their conversation as if you're there.
 
Doombear said:
Guilt isn't the appropriate word for me, but there was some confusion this morning initially. Confusion as to why it hit me so hard in the gut. As I thought about it more, and am still thinking about it for the rest of the day/week I am sure, I came to my own conclusion. The way that Ryan allowed a lot of us to see and hear the very real him, his true persona, well... we got to know him far more than most personalities. We laughed with his jokes, and lost it when he did. There was a sincerity in what Ryan did and what he put out there for us for so so long, it is hard not to be drawn to that. Drawn close.

I think the grief that I am feeling is a direct result of who Ryan was, and the big big piece of himself that Ryan sincerely and joyfully shared with all of us. It was just him.

I don't feel guilty. I truly truly miss this man I have never met.
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Totally agree. The only guilt I feel is I find myself framing his death from my own perspective. I'll never know what he thought of The Last of Us, or the new consoles in November, etc.

I have never lost a close friend or family member. I can't imagine how those who truly know him feel.
 
Doombear said:
Guilt isn't the appropriate word for me, but there was some confusion this morning initially. Confusion as to why it hit me so hard in the gut. As I thought about it more, and am still thinking about it for the rest of the day/week I am sure, I came to my own conclusion. The way that Ryan allowed a lot of us to see and hear the very real him, his true persona, well... we got to know him far more than most personalities. We laughed with his jokes, and lost it when he did. There was a sincerity in what Ryan did and what he put out there for us for so so long, it is hard not to be drawn to that. Drawn close.

I think the grief that I am feeling is a direct result of who Ryan was, and the big big piece of himself that Ryan sincerely and joyfully shared with all of us. It was just him.

I don't feel guilty. I truly truly miss this man I have never met.
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Well said.
 
Im glad to see jeff posting stuff like he's cracking up at some of the "homages". Dude can be really sheltered and hard to get a read on so it's reassuring. Vinny still not saying anything is bumming me out, but it's not like I can blame him.
 
Doombear said:
Guilt isn't the appropriate word for me, but there was some confusion this morning initially. Confusion as to why it hit me so hard in the gut. As I thought about it more, and am still thinking about it for the rest of the day/week I am sure, I came to my own conclusion. The way that Ryan allowed a lot of us to see and hear the very real him, his true persona, well... we got to know him far more than most personalities. We laughed with his jokes, and lost it when he did. There was a sincerity in what Ryan did and what he put out there for us for so so long, it is hard not to be drawn to that. Drawn close.

I think the grief that I am feeling is a direct result of who Ryan was, and the big big piece of himself that Ryan sincerely and joyfully shared with all of us. It was just him.

I don't feel guilty. I truly truly miss this man I have never met.
Click to expand...
That was great, thank-you.
 
Doombear said:
Guilt isn't the appropriate word for me, but there was some confusion this morning initially. Confusion as to why it hit me so hard in the gut. As I thought about it more, and am still thinking about it for the rest of the day/week I am sure, I came to my own conclusion. The way that Ryan allowed a lot of us to see and hear the very real him, his true persona, well... we got to know him far more than most personalities. We laughed with his jokes, and lost it when he did. There was a sincerity in what Ryan did and what he put out there for us for so so long, it is hard not to be drawn to that. Drawn close.

I think the grief that I am feeling is a direct result of who Ryan was, and the big big piece of himself that Ryan sincerely and joyfully shared with all of us. It was just him.

I don't feel guilty. I truly truly miss this man I have never met.
Click to expand...

Excellent post. Thank you.

I've only ever had one interaction with Ryan Davis, and it was after all the shit got stolen from the E3 house. I tweeted him a picture of my New Balance sneakers to cheer him up and he said it actually helped.

Ryan Davis loved New Balance sneakers.
 
Vic-Rattlehead said:
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was the end of giant bomb, it was Jeff and Ryans site and now Ryan is gone i can't see them wanting to continue to work at CBSI
people can find it awful hard going back to places and doing things that remind them of someone they love
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I can't see them ending their careers and endangering their livelihoods because their friend died. Not trying to sound like an ass but people you care about passing away is a part of life. You don't throw away everything you've worked for, the thing that puts food on your table and the lights on because bad and unfortunate things happen.
 
SalsaShark said:
Im glad to see jeff posting stuff like he's cracking up at some of the "homages". Dude can be really sheltered and hard to get a read on so it's reassuring. Vinny still not saying anything is bumming me out, but it's not like I can blame him.
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Wow, I didn't even realize this... Same for Drew.
 
It's kinda freaking me out that random videos featuring Ryan keep popping up on the top spot of the homepage only to vanish when I refresh the page.
 
For me, it isn't just that I got to know him through the podcasts, shows and quicklooks but because he really has been a part of my life for the past few years. Every day I would knock out an hour of bombcast during my commute, when at home or when I ran out of podcast I would watch quicklooks or an archived show as a break. I associate Giantbomb with laughs ,comfort and unwinding. With Ryan no longer with us, that person who gave me so many of those feelings is gone.

RIP
 
kingocfs said:
Max from CAH wrote my favorite blog post about this and touched on the real reason why GB has been so successful:


http://maxistentialist.tumblr.com/post/54928987924/last-night-i-got-a-terrible-call-from-patrick-that

They had special chemistry. It's going to suck listening/watching these guys without Ryan being there no matter how you slice it.
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Exactly, Jeff and Ryan were the Bert and Ernie of games journalism, a great dynamic duo. You could tell they were more than just best friends, more like brothers. I can't imagine what the crew are going through right now, but especially Jeff.
 
khaaan said:
For me, it isn't just that I got to know him through the podcasts, shows and quicklooks but because he really has been a part of my life for the past few years. Every day I would knock out an hour of bombcast during my commute, when at home or when I ran out of podcast I would watch quicklooks or an archived show as a break. I associate Giantbomb with laughs ,comfort and unwinding. With Ryan no longer with us, that person who gave me so many of those feelings is gone.

RIP
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I agree. Giantbomb was what I would do when I had nowhere else to turn for some entertainment. I've spent many a night just laying in bed watching old quick looks, and many hours of gameplay listening to the bombcast.

fucking video games, man.
 
derFeef said:
The two of them had more shows about the JP games planned and it never really happened.
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Given the hints that Vinny was working with some sort of tech that would allow them to do QLs with Patrick in Chicago, I'm willing to bet they were planning on finishing the series out with Ryan in SF and Patrick in Chicago.
 
I'll miss the random ass conversations Jeff and Ryan had during their commute. The drive is probably going to suck for Jeff for awhile.
 
I hate to inject myself into this, but I'm paralyzed to this computer chair after hearing what happened. All I did was listen and then relisten to his podcast twice a week. I shouldn't be hit as hard as I am, but when I saw the thread, I screamed, "No."

I guess during those three hours that I'd listen to each week (and then do it again before the next one would be released) the GB guys let me into their world and I'm so thankful that Ryan was one of them.
 
NoirVisage said:
The Chrono Trigger endurance run that him and Ryan did was among my favorite Giant bomb moments. They had an odd but pleasing chemistry, as much as I wasn't keen on Patrick on a good majority of quicklooks, I will miss that chemistry, I'm sure Patrick misses it a lot more than myself.
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The only thing I remember about that ER is going crazy because they were soooo bad at the game. Now the only person I can deride as being bad at games is Brad, but he shouldn't shoulder all my derision. Damn you Ryan.
 
I'm still in complete disbelief of how suddenly this happened. Ryan and the rest of the crew have pulled me through a lot of tough times over the years, I only wish them all the best.
 
birdhammer said:
I hate to inject myself into this, but I'm paralyzed to this computer chair after hearing what happened. All I did was listen and then relisten to his podcast twice a week. I shouldn't be hit as hard as I am, but when I saw the thread, I screamed, "No."

I guess during those three hours that I'd listen to each week (and then do it again before the next one would be released) the GB guys let me into their world and I'm so thankful that Ryan was one of them.
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Couldn't say it better.

Typographenia said:
The last minute of the Michael Jordan bombastica has become one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.
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The way Patrick seems to just soldier on is something to be admired.
 
this is all so fucked up and weird and I feel awful. dude’s the same age as me. He just got married. it’s heartbreaking and tragic.

I feel anxious and jittery. Like I need to move around and get rid of this nervous, stomach wrenching energy.

RIP Ryan.
 
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